I recently posted that I'm thinking about getting into recording myself. What got me thinking was a comment that Leo Kottke made when I saw him at a show recently. He said something like please don't yell out requests, because there's no way I'll be able to play it--maybe in two weeks or so, but not now.

It may seem obvious, but it dawned on me that he, just like anyone else who plays, can only have so many songs ready and polished. I may be wrong in this, but his comment led me to believe that what he is playing in a show may be close to the sum total of what he's willing to play in public at any given time. The rest of his catalogue may represent snapshots of what he had recording-ready (and performance-ready) at the time the tracks were laid down.

Now I'm not comparing myself to him, but I do find that if I'm really working on a new song, I get rusty on older stuff that I had down pat. I have to dedicate a substantial portion of practice to just ensuring that my older repertoire remains intact—and then what I'm woodshedding suffers.

So I'm thinking, why not make a recording of stuff when it's really under my fingers and then concentrate on new stuff without worrying that I'm going to lose the older material? (Oh, and I do lose it). Now I don't perform out, so I don't have to worry about having a couple of sets ready to go. Getting stuff down in a recording for listening to later might be pretty satisfying.

I mostly record myself to help document "good ideas." And also to impress my fiance. It's not that I'm that awesome, it's just that same ol' CDI factor of guitars coming through for me

On a serious note, letting other people listen to you while you can watch them listen is good for feedback because you get not only their verbal response, but you can pick up on their nonverbal impressions as well.

I don't know about others but I record myself a lot and for specific reasons. I do not record, necessarily, so that I can share it with someone else. Here are my reasons:

1. To be able to hear what my guitar and voice actually sound like to a listener. It's much different than what I hear while I'm playing and singing.

2. I use a simple 4 track recorder which enables me to concentrate on just the guitar and add the vocals afterwards. In conjuction with a drum machine like the Alesis SR-16 I can become a one- man band and adjust the recording levels as needed to achieve a balanced sound. I send the tapes to my partner who can develop his leads and fills at his house so that when we play together he has it already worked out.

3. Recording myself gives me a gauge to determine my improvement. I can listen to a tape made a few years ago and compare it to how I sound today.

4. Somtimes you can come up with a riff on the spur of the moment that you might forget later on. It's good to be able to save it for future use.

When I practice I generally have the tape on just in case I come up with something original that I want to preserve.

If I ever become famous these will become the long lost "basement tapes" !

1. I have the technology. 2. Mistakes are caught early on. As in, "Hey, that actually sounds awful!" 3. You can learn a lot from that. 4. I'm the most completely honest and knowledgable listener that I know. Really. 5. No one else will at 3 in the morning or whenever a new song is finished and I hate to forget them.

I bought a recorder to share my music with people. At first, it was so I could try to get gigs. You know, record a few of the popular tunes I play like the Beatles, Neil Young...etc and burn a few CD's and drop them off at a cuple of clubs. Now I'm playing gigs on a regular basis. No more need to record for that. I've got some original material I want to put on a CD now. I want to try to sell them online, or downloads...and at gigs obviously. I want to try my hand at selling that. Not that I think I will "make it" but you never know if you don't try.

When I'm woodshedding a new piece, I tend to forget most of the other things I had pretty well polished up until that point. Afterwards, they come back pretty quickly, though.I record to hear as objectively as I am able what I am doing so I can take corrective measures for improvement. This typically involves telling myself to slow down/ it's not a race to the finish line. This is what I refer to as "over-driving my headlights" (playing faster than I am able to play cleanly) It may have sounded OK when I played it but until I hear it played back while I'm sitting there with a cup of coffee, I don't really know what it sounded like or just how bad that clam was. On occasion I'm fairly pleased.Once in a while I send one of my recordings as an attachment to an email to a family member or friend I haven't seen for a while who knows that I'm fairly serious about this avocation of mine.

I bought a recorder to share my music with people. At first, it was so I could try to get gigs. You know, record a few of the popular tunes I play like the Beatles, Neil Young...etc and burn a few CD's and drop them off at a cuple of clubs. Now I'm playing gigs on a regular basis. No more need to record for that. I've got some original material I want to put on a CD now. I want to try to sell them online, or downloads...and at gigs obviously. I want to try my hand at selling that. Not that I think I will "make it" but you never know if you don't try.

For some reason, I'm at a point where I don't play things for people. You're one of the few who have heard a couple of my poor efforts. I like what I do but I seem to have lost the need for affirmation. You almost have to twist my arm to play with more than my gf or the dog in attendance. What's up with that I wonder?

For some reason, I'm at a point where I don't play things for people. You're one of the few who have heard a couple of my poor efforts. I like what I do but I seem to have lost the need for affirmation. You almost have to twist my arm to play with more than my gf or the dog in attendance. What's up with that I wonder?

Are you playing covers in front of people though? Is it just your stuff that you don't play in front of others? I have developed a real addiction for playing in front of people. I'm still nervous though, every time...like right now, I know I've got to go get the key to my ex's place, pick up my gear at home, go get my boys at the daycare, take them to my ex's house, wait for her to show up, then go set up for my gig. I always sweat like hell during my first set. Warming up, feeling out the crowd. By the time the 2nd set starts, I've got half a pint in me, my voice is usually pretty warm as are my hands. I'm still getting the hang of playing my own music in front of people though. Usually, I just play Samuel and Havre-aux-maisons as they're both in DADGAD so I'll tune, play some Bensusan, play my tunes, then tune the G to F# and do Little Martha.

Oh yeah, I just don't play my own stuff much anymore. Unless someone really wants to hear something and kind of twists my arm. Part of it is that I hang out with a bunch of songwriters who are always saying, "I got a new song" and then proceed to subject people to them without mercy. Even at jams. I mean jamming to songs no one knows gets really tedious especially when I'm the one expected to throw in all the fills. One night at a party, not long ago, with about five players, I suddenly shouted out, "Doesn't anyone know any real songs?" I guess it's up to me.

Self improvement mostly. I'm pretty critical of myself, but I do pat myself on the back occasionally. I think you get a much better prospective of what you sound like listening to youself recorded, like tuffy said it's not the same as what you hear when your playing and singing. Unlike Queequeg I found listening to myself that I needed to up the tempo of some of the songs because they were dragging and sounded to slow. I have no desire to make it as a performer, but if someone wants to hear me play I want to sound the best I can.

I just ordered a Roland CD-2e recorder which is a new piece of technology that combines a lot of really useful functions in a tidy little package. I have recorded my stuff ad lib before, and have played open mic venues. I find that recording myself is particularly important for figuring out how the vocal fit with the guitar work. It helps suggest key changes that make all the difference!

With the type of work I do, gardening, in the winter I have much more time to practice and my overall sound is definately more polished then. Also, gardening really messes up my pickin' nails big time. So, I bought a Korg D1200mk11 stand alone digital recorder but, for my tecnologically impaired genes I'm having a hard time figuring it out. I'd like to be able to capture my songs for many of the same reasons mentioned and also to attempt to critically determine how different sections of a song fit together as a composition. DAVE